Picking system

1. A picking system comprising: a management apparatus that manages progress of a picking operation; one or more wireless communicator-indicators that are disposed so as to correspond to one or more storage positions of picking items; an autonomous transport device; and a local-area wireless communication device via which the management apparatus communicates with the autonomous transport device, wherein the autonomous transport device includes a long-distance wireless communication circuit that communicates with the management apparatus via the local-area wireless communication device, and a transport-side short-distance wireless communication circuit that communicates with the wireless communicator-indicators, wherein each of the wireless communicator-indicators includes an indicator-side short-distance wireless communication circuit that communicates with the autonomous transport device, and an indication unit that indicates a corresponding one of the storage positions of the picking items to an operator, wherein the management apparatus transmits picking-instruction information to the autonomous transport device via the local-area wireless communication device, wherein the autonomous transport device receives the picking-instruction information and moves to a target storage position, which is one of the storages positions where one or more of the picking items specified by the picking-instruction information are stored, and, in a state in which the autonomous transport device has reached a position within a communication range of a target wireless communicator-indicator, which is one of the wireless communicator-indicators disposed so as to correspond to the target storage position, the autonomous transport device transmits an indication instruction to the target wireless communicator-indicator, and wherein the target wireless communicator-indicator receives the indication instruction and indicates the target storage position to the operator via the indication unit.

2. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein, if the autonomous transport device is not within the communication range of the target wireless communicator-indicator when the autonomous transport device receives the picking-instruction information, the autonomous transport device moves to a position within the communication range of the target wireless communicator-indicator and then transmits the indication instruction to the target wireless communicator-indicator.

3. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein, if the autonomous transport device is within the communication range of the target wireless communicator-indicator when the autonomous transport device receives the picking-instruction information, the autonomous transport device immediately transmits the indication instruction to the target wireless communicator-indicator.

4. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein the indicator-side short-distance wireless communication circuit receives the indication instruction as a radio wave, converts the energy of the received radio wave into electric power, and records or outputs electronic information that reflects reception of the indication instruction by using the electric power, and wherein each of the wireless communicator-indicators performs indication based on the electronic information via the indication unit.

5. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein the indicator-side short-distance wireless communication circuit is an RFID tag, and the transport-side short-distance wireless communication circuit is a communication circuit that communicates with the RFID tag.

6. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein the management apparatus and the autonomous transport device communicate with each other via a wireless LAN.

7. The picking system according to claim 1 , wherein the indication unit of each of the wireless communicator-indicators includes a light emitter that emits light for indication and a photovoltaic cell that generates electric power used by the light emitter to emit light.